Hackensack among 3 NJ hospitals to be trained to receive Ebola patients
OCTOBER 22, 2014, 6:03 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2014, 6:50 AM
BY LINDY WASHBURN AND MELISSA HAYES
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Governor Christie named three hospitals Wednesday – including Hackensack University Medical Center – to receive intensive training and support so they are prepared to treat any Ebola patients in New Jersey.
The three volunteered to be designated as the state’s treatment centers for patients with the highly contagious disease, the state Health Department said. Officials at the hospitals say they’ll learn from both the good and bad experiences of medical centers around the country that have treated Ebola patients.
Naming three hospitals out of the 72 in the state allows officials to concentrate resources, as nurses’ groups and a state lawmaker have recommended. The three — Hackensack, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and Newark’s University Hospital – will have help from a group of experts from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scheduled to visit this week.
Ebola is most likely to enter New Jersey via a passenger arriving at the airport or at the port, officials believe, so hospitals located relatively nearby with the resources to handle the disease were chosen. University Hospital already has served as the receiving hospital for any passengers from Newark Liberty International Airport considered to have potential cases of Ebola or other communicable diseases, under an agreement with the CDC.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/hackensack-among-3-nj-hospitals-to-be-trained-to-receive-ebola-patients-1.1115108#sthash.nfbEnLOv.dpuf